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RUNNY BABBIT Celebrates Its 10th Anniversary

New York, NY (PRWEB)January 06, 2015

Today HarperCollins Children’s Books released the FALLING UP Special Edition featuring twelve never-before-published poems by the legendary Shel Silverstein. 2015 also marks the 10th anniversary of RUNNY BABBIT, Silverstein’s bestselling book of spoonerisms.

FALLING UP was an instant bestseller when it was first published in 1996, and has sold almost three million copies to date. At the time of its publication, the New York Times Book Review raved, “Shel Silverstein is that rare adult who can still think like a child.” In addition to twelve new poems and accompanying art, the FALLING UP Special Edition features a colorful bronze jacket that will complement the gold jacketed Special Edition of A LIGHT IN THE ATTIC and the silver jacketed Special Edition of WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS. Along with EVERY THING ON IT (published in 2011), this completes the quartet of Shel’s classic poetry books.

RUNNY BABBIT is an extraordinarily imaginative and witty collection of spoonerisms written and illustrated by Silverstein before his death and his first book published posthumously. Filled with creative words and phrases with letters or syllables swapped (bunny rabbit becomes Runny Babbit), this poetry book follows the warm, insightful, and laugh-out-loud adventures of an endearing cast of characters. Maurice Sendak said of RUNNY BABBIT, “I wish I had done this book!”

HarperCollins Children’s Books has celebrated numerous Shel Silverstein moments in a major multi-year marketing campaign. 2013 marked the 50th anniversary of LAFCADIO, THE LION WHO SHOT BACK, Silverstein’s first picture book. 2014 celebrated Silverstein’s most prolific year, 1964, when he wrote and illustrated THE GIVING TREE, DON’T BUMP THE GLUMP!, A GIRAFFE AND A HALF, and WHO WANTS A CHEAP RHINOCEROS? And, WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS also celebrated its 40th anniversary. Commemorative anniversary editions for these five titles were published on February 18, 2014. HarperCollins also unveiled the first ever Shel Silverstein e-book, THE GIVING TREE. After 50 years and 10 million copies sold, the digital edition of THE GIVING TREE was introduced to young readers and lifelong fans, expanding the legacy of a beloved classic that will now reach an even wider audience.

Generations have grown up with the works of Shel Silverstein, known not only as a poet and illustrator, but also for his work as a cartoonist, playwright, performer, recording artist, and Grammy Award-winning songwriter. Silverstein’s children’s books have sold more than 35 million hardcover copies in the U.S. alone and have been translated into 41 foreign languages. He has encouraged children to dream and dare to imagine the impossible with his extraordinary poetry and unforgettable characters.

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ABOUT SHEL SILVERSTEIN

Shel Silverstein is the author of LAFCADIO, THE LION WHO SHOT BACK; A GIRAFFE AND A HALF; THE GIVING TREE; WHO WANTS A CHEAP RHINOCEROS?; DON’T BUMP THE GLUMP!; WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS; THE MISSING PIECE; A LIGHT IN THE ATTIC; THE MISSING PIECE MEETS THE BIG O; FALLING UP; RUNNY BABBIT; and EVERY THING ON IT. He was a cartoonist, playwright, poet, performer, recording artist, and a Grammy-winning/Oscar-nominated songwriter. Shel Silverstein’s children’s books have sold more than 35 million hardcover copies in the U.S. alone and have been translated into 41 foreign languages. You can learn more about Shel and his books by visiting http://www.shelsilverstein.com.

ABOUT HARPERCOLLINS CHILDREN’S BOOKS

HarperCollins Children’s Books is one of the leading publishers of children’s and teen books. Respected worldwide for its tradition of publishing quality, award-winning books for young readers, HarperCollins is home to many timeless treasures and bestsellers such as CHARLOTTE’S WEB, GOODNIGHT MOON, WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS, WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, THE GRAVEYARD BOOK and series including The Chronicles of Narnia, Ramona, Warriors, Pete the Cat, Fancy Nancy, Divergent, and The Selection. Consistently at the forefront of digital innovation, HarperCollins Children’s Books delights readers through engaging storytelling in all formats, including ebooks and apps. HarperCollins Children’s Books is a division of HarperCollins Publishers, one of the leading English-language publishers in the world and a subsidiary of News Corp (NASDAQ: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV). Headquartered in New York, HarperCollins has operations in 18 countries. You can visit HarperCollins Children’s Books at http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com and http://www.epicreads.com and HarperCollins Publishers at http://www.harpercollins.com